Food and drink brands in the UK should include information on pack about how long it would take to burn off the calories in each product, according to new recommendations from the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH).
The so-called “activity equivalent” labelling would address the public misunderstanding of how much exercise would be needed to burn off various foods. If the proposals were adopted, icons explaining the extent of activity needed would be printed on pack alongside calorie content information, with values for running, cycling and swimming all provided.
The call is included in a policy paper from RSPH that also claims “many people find current front-of-pack nutritional information confusing”. It said that the industry was guilty of “information overload” when it came to informing healthy purchasing behaviour.
RSPH chief executive Shirley Cramer CBE said: “Although nutritional information provided on food and drink packaging has improved, it is evident that it isn’t working as well as it could to support the public in making healthy choices. Activity equivalent calorie labelling provides a simple means of making the calories contained within food and drink more relatable to people’s everyday lives, while also gently reminding consumers of the need to maintain active lifestyles and a healthy weight.
“Given the responsibility of the food industry in tackling the obesity epidemic we believe activity equivalent calorie labelling could provide the nudge many people need to be more active and support their customers to make healthier choices.”
The organisation, which is independent from the UK government, claimed that 63% of consumers supported the idea with more than half saying it would help them to make positive behavioural changes such as choosing healthier products, eating smaller portions or doing more physical exercise.
Steven Ward, executive director of the advocacy body UKActive, added: “Anything that can get people more physically active is a step in the right direction. UKActive welcomes this paper as another sign that getting more people, more active, more often is at the top of public health professionals’ minds. We see a lot of health messaging telling us off, to eat and drink less, which although correct, doesn’t work for everyone. Encouraging people to be more active is a positive message, more about supporting people to start rather than imploring them to stop. Physical activity has been described by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges as a ‘miracle cure’ so we should treat it as just that.”
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